As the Chattanooga Film Festival prepares for its 12th edition, its organizers are sending a clear message: In a world where film festivals are leaning into studio previews and AI-assisted spectacle, CFF remains committed to the strange, the indie and the offbeat.
Set for June 20-28, the hybrid event – held both in-person in Chattanooga and virtually across the U.S. – is bringing a slate of more than 45 features, dozens of shorts, secret screenings, live podcasts and genre-specific programming. With a programming ethos anchored in “making the world a safer place for strange and wonderful cinema,” CFF is looking to reaffirm its status as one of America’s most eccentric genre film festivals.
A home for outliers
Festival director and lead programmer Chris Dortch II doesn’t mince words when talking about CFF’s mission in 2025.
“At a time when more festivals seem to be normalizing generative AI in film production or filling their programming with sneak previews of studio or wide-release titles rather than discovering and platforming new voices, we felt a responsibility to work harder than ever before to shine a spotlight on independent filmmakers and projects this year.”
That spotlight shines brightly in the festival’s feature film announcements. The 2025 lineup features a characteristically eclectic mix of world premieres, transgressive documentaries, off-the-wall horror, midnight oddities and unexpected gems from around the globe.
CFF 2025 will kick off with the world premiere of “Noclip 2: Return to Lunchland,” the sequel to last year’s cult hit “Noclip,” which won CFF’s inaugural Jeff Burr Prize. Directors Gavin Charles and Alex Conn once again dive headfirst into “eerie, liminal horror landscapes with VHS textures and surreal dread, transporting viewers to bizarre new realms that feel both nostalgic and nightmarish,” promises the film’s marketing materials.
Another marquee world premiere comes from Erik Bloomquist with “Self-Help,” a psychological thriller about a young woman trying to rescue her mother from a sinister online self-improvement cult. “Blending digital-age anxieties with familial stakes, ‘Self-Help’ marks Bloomquist as a filmmaker to watch,” notes a press release from CFF.
Undead drag queens?
CFF’s 2025 aims to go out with a bang with its closing night film. Tina Romero, daughter of horror icon George A. “Night of the Living Dead” Romero, brings her own gory vision to life with “Queens of the Dead,” a mashup of zombie horror, queer identity and underground club culture.
“When the undead overrun a Brooklyn warehouse party, a chosen family of drag queens and club kids must put their drama aside and face the apocalypse, heels first,” quips the movie’s promotional campaign.
Romero’s film “combines a cheeky, camp sensibility with razor-sharp genre chops, paying homage to her father’s legacy while carving out her own voice in modern horror. CFF’s decision to close with ‘Queens of the Dead’ is a fitting reflection of its ethos: boldly inclusive, defiantly weird and joyfully subversive,” remarks CFF’s media brief.
Suburban monsters
No CFF would be complete without its beloved Sonic Cinema program – where music and film collide in electric ways. This year, the fest welcomes Jonathan J. Sequeira’s punk rock documentary “The Most Australian Band Ever,” charting the rise of an unruly trio of ethnic outcasts who broke barriers in the 1980s Aussie punk scene. “Before ‘diversity’ became a buzzword, they were fighting racism and redefining what Australian music could sound like,” state the film’s promotional materials.
Another Sonic Cinema gem will provide a one-of-a-kind live experience: a special screening of F.W. Murnau’s silent classic “Faust” (1926) accompanied by a new, original metal score by The Silent Light.
Then there’s “Foul Evil Deeds,” a dark comedy anthology by Richard Hunter that “peels back the layers of suburban cruelty and voyeuristic judgment in a world increasingly addicted to watching others fail,” vows the movie’s press package.
Global gems
International cinema also finds fertile ground at CFF. Yun Xie’s “Under the Burning Sun” tells a dystopian tale of bodily autonomy in a world where abortion is outlawed. The film follows Mowanza, a pregnant woman crossing a barren desert in search of sanctuary. It’s “timely, haunting and deeply human,” says CFF’s announcement.
Angela Gulner’s “The Beldham” adds to the festival’s horror lineup with a ghost story that “explores the blurry line between care and control. With elements of postpartum dread, gaslighting and ancient evil, ‘The Beldham’ offers a slow-burn horror experience that speaks to the sacrifices of motherhood,” pledges the film’s promotional materials.
Another standout will be “Portal to Hell,” a genre-bending story by Woody Bess in which a world-weary debt collector encounters a literal hellmouth at his local laundromat. A demon “offers him a moral riddle involving forgiveness and debt, setting the stage for a story that’s part ‘Twilight Zone,’ part ‘Coen Brothers’ – and all CFF,” promises the festival’s media release.
The absurd and the sublime
CFF 2025 doesn’t skimp on compelling documentaries, either. One of the most anticipated is “Exorcismo,” Alberto Sedano’s deep dive into Spain’s post-Franco era of genre cinema known as “Clasificada S.” Narrated by punk legend Iggy Pop, the film traces how Spanish horror and erotic thrillers became a vehicle for resistance and freedom. Featuring interviews with “icons like Jess Franco and José Ramón Larraz, ‘Exorcism’ “offers a provocative look at the intersection of art, politics and censorship,” state the film’s release notes.
Also screening is the charming and heartfelt “The Spirit Of Halloweentown,” which revisits St. Helens, Oregon – the filming location of the 1998 Disney Channel movie “Halloweentown.” More than two decades later, the town has embraced its legacy with an annual transformation into a Halloween wonderland, drawing over 50,000 visitors each October. The doc “captures a community’s evolving relationship with identity, nostalgia and tourism, revealing how movie magic can shape real-world meaning,” says CFF’s release.
Oddballs and outcasts
Two other narrative features round out the lineup with character-driven stories.
Sam Hayes’ “Pools” is a teen dramedy that kicks off with a pool-hopping mission and turns into a poignant exploration of grief, friendship and self-discovery. After her father’s death, Kennedy attempts to distract herself with a night of rebellion, but what starts as a party becomes an emotional journey.
Then there’s “In the Mouth,” a surreal psychological oddity from Cory Santilli. It follows Merl, a shut-in who discovers a massive version of his own body protruding from his front lawn. With time running out and rent due, he brings in a cryptic new roommate, triggering a chain of events that’s “as funny as it is disturbing,” say the film’s media kit.
“It’s the kind of unclassifiable story that finds a perfect home at CFF,” says Dortch.
Beyond the screen
In addition to its ambitious film program, CFF 2025 will also feature live podcasts, filmmaker Q&As, genre-focused panels and its much-loved Red Eye secret screenings – midnight surprises known for pushing boundaries and rewarding adventurous viewers.
And thanks to the festival’s hybrid format, all films and events will be accessible virtually across the U.S., making it easier than ever for cinephiles from coast to coast to get in on the weirdness.
CFF also remains committed to community building. Whether through virtual chatrooms, live social media interactions, or in-person hangouts, the festival “cultivates an environment where fans, filmmakers and press can mingle without pretension,” states CFF’s media briefs.
“In an era where some festivals are embracing synthetic storytelling and studio-driven programming, CFF continues to carve out space for the weird, the handmade and the human,” says Dortch. “From drag queens fending off zombies to silent films scored with black metal, and from experimental horror to personal documentaries, CFF 2025 is a reminder that cinema is still capable of surprising us – if we’re willing to take the plunge.”
Badges for both the in-person and virtual festival are available now via chattfilmfest.eventive.org.
The Chattanooga Film Festival is a 501c3 nonprofit run entirely by a small crew of volunteers. All proceeds from the festival’s ticket and badge sales and donations go to the staging of each year’s festival.
Something twisted for all film fans
The CFF 2025 slate includes:
• Crossword
•Exorcismo
• Faust
• Foul Evil Deed
• Good Night (U.S. premiere)
• Hacked: A Double Entendre of Rage Fueled Karma (world premiere)
• The Harbor Men (world premiere)
• Hot Spring Shark Attack (U.S. premiere; opening night selection)
• House of Ashes
• Hung up on a Dream: The Zombies Documentary
• I Hate Myself and Want to Die
• I Really Love My Husband
• In the Mouth
• King baby
• Noclip 2: Return to Lunchland (world premiere)
• Obex
• Operation Wakaliga: Fate and Blood (U.S. premiere)
• Pavement
• Pools
• Portal to Hell
• Queens of the Dead (closing night selection)
• Self-help (world premiere)
• The Beldham
• The Misadventures of Vince & Hick (world premiere)
• The Most Australian Band Ever!
• The Spirit of Halloweentown
• Under the Burning Sun